first reloads got stuck in chamber,too warm?

[45r]

I shot some 225 grain ftx's over 38 grains lil gun and they(2) got stuck and the rim got ripped off.I loaded them to 2.120 like hoot does and taper crimped to .476.I resized the brass to a real heavy full length resize since the first 2 ripped and went to 36 grains.That seem to help,I then went up half a grain from 36 and they went pretty good but one got stuck again at 37 grains.No sooting and the brass isn't beat up and the bottoms looks good except for the ones that ripped the rim.I think 36 might be all I can go for now.I cleaned and oiled the upper real well.The chamber looks good.I wonder if the bolt is opening too soon,38 grains lil gun doesn't seem like it would be too hot for 225's.I really like the upper,it fits perfect on my colt lower and is accurate.The recoil is pretty light to me,I don't think I'll need a muzzle break.I have some 250 ftx's but want to get the stuck case thing figured out before trying them.I wonder if I got a real tight or short chamber.I've never had any problems with my Colt H-bar.

[Hoot]

That 38gr LG / 225 FTX load is pretty middle of the road. I've never shot it under real hot conditions though. Probably 90 deg at the most.

How hot do you think it was when you had the sticking brass?
Was the gun hot from multiple shots and did the round sit in the chamber for a long time before shooting? They can soak up heat from a hot chamber.
Standard rifle buffer?
Standard spring?
Were you running Magnum primers?

I do run a carrier weight system, so I don't know what a system without one will do, other than the fact that other folks run that load without issues. Just throwing out what comes to mind...

Hoot

[45r]

it was the first 2 shots out of my new bushmaster upper.The lower came off my colt 24 inch H-bar elite.It probably has standard buffer and spring since it's rifle gas system.The brass is once fired hornady from a friend.The fired brass will barely let a bullet go in the neck but its the front part that takes the taper crimp that is very tight,it seems snug after that,I'm going to crimp at around 477 to 478 next time.The chamber seems very tight as the brass doesn't seem to get sized a lot by the die.The fired brass seems to have fine sandpaper type scratches by the top of the neck and down by the base.Maybe it is real tight and a little rough and will smooth out after a while,I hope so.The rifle is a blast to shoot and the recoil is not as bad as some say,to me anyways.I can tell that it will be plenty powerfull and I'm going to use it for deer hunting.I put a leupold 3x9 on it and it feels just right with it's 20 inch barrel.

[tkknc]

Just for a data point, I live in Phoenix and it has always been over 100 when I have shot the 450 this summer. It is just starting to cool off. 35.5 gr of lil gun is not enough to eject the case. 36 gr seems to eject the case reliably when it is over 100.

[Hoot]

Just for a data point, I live in Phoenix and it has always been over 100 when I have shot the 450 this summer. It is just starting to cool off. 35.5 gr of lil gun is not enough to eject the case. 36 gr seems to eject the case reliably when it is over 100.

I suspect that upper needs to break in a bit. Mine extracts them down to 32gr Lil Gun. That's as far as I've gone down and I have an added 4 oz carrier weight. Actually, now that I think about it, when I was recently doing water shots and loading down to simulate distance, 24gr of Lil Gun kicked the case out but did not lock back the bolt. This may be a case of a too tight chamber. If you have an accurate micrometer, mark of .2 inch segments all the way down a fired case and measure and record the diameter at each increment. I can compare it to mine, though there's no saying that mine is correct. Perhaps Tim has the reamer spec.

Hoot

[Stealthshooter]

I can measure a couple of my fired cases as well.

[45r]

I got some factory ammo and it is 4 thou smaller a half inch up the case and a few thou smaller an inch up compared to my full length sized reloads.I put 4 reloads in the upper and they thunked but one of them wouldn't fall out when I turned the upper upside down untill I dropped a pencil down the barrel.I'm thinking my size die is a little too big.The factory ammo thunked real easy and fell out real easy also compared to my reloads.Is 3 to 4 thou over factory too big in the middle section.The base and top of the brass is the same.Maybe Hornady will replace my size die since the one I have doesn't size to factory load measurements even when set for a real tight full length resize.I turned the die down as far as possible but it won't size to the same as factory ammo.I polished my chamber with flitz and it looks real good.I think it must be a tight chamber.My size die probably would be perfect for someone that has a bigger chamber or a bolt gun.

[Hoot]

I got some factory ammo and it is 4 thou smaller a half inch up the case and a few thou smaller an inch up compared to my full length sized reloads.I put 4 reloads in the upper and they thunked but one of them wouldn't fall out when I turned the upper upside down untill I dropped a pencil down the barrel.I'm thinking my size die is a little too big.The factory ammo thunked real easy and fell out real easy also compared to my reloads.Is 3 to 4 thou over factory too big in the middle section.The base and top of the brass is the same.Maybe Hornady will replace my size die since the one I have doesn't size to factory load measurements even when set for a real tight full length resize.I turned the die down as far as possible but it won't size to the same as factory ammo.I polished my chamber with flitz and it looks real good.I think it must be a tight chamber.My size die probably would be perfect for someone that has a bigger chamber or a bolt gun.

Not to insult you, but do you set up your decap/resize die by running the ram up with the shell holder in it, screw the die down until it solidly engages the shell holder, back off the ram a little, give the die another 1/4 turn downward and lock it down? If it's a Rock Chucker, you should feel it slightly cam-over at the end of the stroke, with no shell in it.

You back off the seating die a 1/4 turn from engaging the brass, but not the decap/resize die.

Again, not to insult you, just grasping at ideas other than a faulty die. Hornady has been less than stellar for me this year. I bought my 450b dies last year and they've worked out well, but two caliber other ones I bought this year had issues. I wish the 450b resized a little less, but that's because I have what I suspect is a generous chamber.

Wanna swap resizing dies and see if it helps, as I'd love to try yours on my chamber. It might be enlightening to see if yours causes the same issue in my chamber as a reality check before you send it in.

Hoot

[45r]

I got another die body coming from hornady to see if it will size down to factory ammo measurement.I screwed the die down quite a bit to where it could barely cam over in my rockchucker and it still sized the same.I think the new die body will work.

[Hoot]

I got another die body coming from hornady to see if it will size down to factory ammo measurement.I screwed the die down quite a bit to where it could barely cam over in my rockchucker and it still sized the same.I think the new die body will work.

That's good news. When I've had trouble, they've been very proactive in helping me out. If it fixes your problem, I'd still like to borrow your "too tight" die for a week or so to play with.

Hoot